911 briefs -- Published Jan. 25, 2008

Friday

Jan 25, 2008 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON - Police released two sketches of a person they believe was in the area Monday when 16-year-old Kevin Salazar was stabbed in the chest after an altercation at Sandman Park and collapsed as he pedaled home.

The Record

STOCKTON - Police released two sketches of a person they believe was in the area Monday when 16-year-old Kevin Salazar was stabbed in the chest after an altercation at Sandman Park and collapsed as he pedaled home.

The "person of interest" may be a witness to the attack. He is thought to be 16 to 20 years old, standing about 6 feet tall and weighing about 180 pounds. He is cleanshaven with light brown or reddish blond hair and brown eyes.

He was seen walking north on Don Avenue from Lucile Avenue. Salazar collapsed and died near the intersection of Lucile Avenue and Cornwall Drive in north Stockton.

Police believe the person shown in the sketches lives in the area or visits it frequently.

Police are requesting anyone with information on the homicide or the identity of the person shown in the sketches to contact Stockton police Detectives Mark Reynolds or Robert Faine at (209) 937-8377.

STOCKTON - Stockton police and the Sund-Carrington Foundation are expected today to announce a reward in the August 2006 homicide of Horacio Huerta.

Huerta, 45, was shot to death as he sat in his North Sierra Nevada Street home in Stockton. A stranger came to the door, spoke briefly with Huerta and then shot him. The attacker then ran into the neighborhood. Stockton police said they have exhausted all leads.

The Sund-Carrington Foundation came forward to offer a cash reward for information in this case, according to Thursday's press release announcing the reward. The amount was not given in Thursday's announcement.

"We know that rewards such as this and the media's help in getting this information out can be key in bringing forth the person or persons with information needed to bring closure to these cases and those responsible to justice,'' read a portion of the press release.

LATHROP - An object that looked like a hand grenade found Thursday afternoon by students at Joseph Widmer Jr. Elementary School in Lathrop was safely disposed of by an explosives disposal team from the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office.

Deputy Dave Konecny, a Sheriff's Office spokesman, said children found the device, which looked like a pineapple-style grenade, around 1 p.m. near a building at the eastern edge of the school's campus at 751 Stonebridge Lane.

The children told their teachers, who evacuated nearby classrooms and called 911, Konecny said. The school also was placed in lockdown until the device was cleared, said John McKillip, director of student services for the Manteca Unified School District.

The entire situation was resolved before the end of classes, McKillip said.

The device appeared to have been there for a very long time, Konecny said. It is not clear if it had been loaded with any type of explosive material, he said.